Peters



(No Model.)

R. A. BREUL.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

FEEDING MEGHANISM FOR BLANKING PRESSES.

Patented Deo. 25, 1888.

@nl e" LVL, It Esa-E5- 15 imm,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R.A.BRBUL. PEEDING MBGHANISM FOB BLANKING PRESSES. No. 395,211.Patented-1360. 25, 1888.

(No M0881.) 8 sheets-#snm 8.

,..-11..A.BRBUL FEEDING MBH'NISM FOR BLANKING PRESSES.

No. 895,211. Patented Deo. 25, 1888.

Jill a n. 1m 1 .n Tu. M Lulli.

EEES- z5. www

Nirnn aSTATES PATENT trice.

RICHARD A. BREUL, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THF BRIDGEPORTCHAIN COMPANY.

FEEDlNG MECHANISIVI FOR BLANKlNG-PRESSES.

PEGFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,211, dated December25, 1888.

Application filed May 8, 1888. Serial No. 273,182. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD A. l-REUL, a citizen ol' the United States,residing` at `Bridgnmort, in the county of Fairfield and State ot'Connecticut, have inventel'l certain new and useful Improvements inFeeding lllechanism Yfor fl'lanking-Presses; and I do hereby declare thelfollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertaiiis tomake and use the same.

My invention has for its object to produce a device ot' this class thatwill cut blanks longitudinallyof a strip of metal which is passed fromside to side under the plunger, then ted forward, and passed backaga-in, these movements being repeated continuously, the forward portionot each alternate row ot' blanks being eut from portions ot' the stripof metal lett between the row of blanks last cut, thus reducing theamount ot scrap to the minimum and Yfurnishing blanks with the grainruiming longitudinally thereof, which is an important advantage whenthey are to be used iu places where tf nsile strength is required-as,li'or example, in the manufacture ot" sheet-metal chain. It will oI'course be understood, however, that my improved machine is adapted togeneral blanking purposes without regard to the shape or size of theblanks or the use tor which they are intended, the especial objectsgained being rapidity ot' operation,minimum waste ot' metal, and thesecuring ol' the maximum tensile strength in the blanks.

My invention furthermore ctmsists in combining with the tir-odingmechanism a cutter which chops the scrap up into small pieces, therebyincreasing its value `for melting up without necessitating a specialoperation to cut it.

lVith these ends in viewI have devised the -rear elevation, the frontfeed-pawl bracket and tliiecutting mechanism being` omitted; Fig. Jr, aside elevation, the view being from the left in Fig. 2; Fig. 5, asection on the line which may be ot' the ordinary or any preferredconstruction, they having nothin what-ever Y to do with the principleot" my invention.

The part-s ot' my novel feeding mechanism may be attached to anindependc-mt plate or directly to the bed of the press. In the press entinstance I have shown certain. of the parts as carried by a plate, 4,secured to the bed of the press by screws 5.

t denotes a plaie having an opening, 7, through it, which is adapted toslide in ways 8 on plate Jr.

9 denotes dogs attached to plate G and extending forward toward thefront, where they are connected by a cross-piece, 10, the purpose ofwhich will presently be fully eX- plai ned.

11 and 1;? denote, respectively, the upper and lower feed-rollers, bothot' which are roughened at the center, as shown, andare journaled inblocks 13 between pairs of standards Il, the upper blocks resting onspring' 15, which act to lift the upper roller, separating themslightly, so that a strip of metal may be inserted or removed whenpressure is removed from the block.

1G is a removable cross-pieee between the standards at the top.

17 an adjusting-lever having upon its upper side curved grooves 1S, theends of said grooves forming inolines, as clearly shown in Fig. f). Thislever is journaled on a pin, 19, projecting downward from thecross-piece, which also carries set-screws 20, adapted to engage thegroove in the top of the lever.

21 is a spring cross-piece lyingbetween the standards, its opposite endsresting upon the blocks in which the upper feed-roller is journaled. Itwill be clearly seen that when adjusting-lever-l7 is turned so that thepoints of the set-screws engage grooves 18 springs IOO l5, upon whichthe upper blocks rest, will act to raise said blocks, lifting the upperroller away from the lower roller, as in Fig. 7, and that when the leveris turned so that the points of the set-screws ride up the inclines uponthe full thickness of the lever the spring cross-piece and blocks inwhich the upper roller is journaled will be forced down, placing theupper roller in operative position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Thepressure of the upper roller upon the strip of metal may be adjusted byturning' the setscrews in o1' out. The spring of cross-piece 2l inv useis amply sut'tieient to comj'iensate for any irregularities in thethickness ot' the strip of metal that is being' fed to themachine, sothat stoppage cannot occur from that cause. The standards are madeintegral with a plate, 22, which slides in ways in a plate, 23, securedto the bed ot the press, plate 22 being held in operative position byplates 24. (See Figs. l and 2.)

25 denotes notches in the dog fl at the right of the machine, (see Fig.1,) which are engaged by standards i4, so that plate 22 an d the entirefeeding' mechanism are caused to move with plate 6, the strips, andcrosspiece l0.

26 is a block having a longitudinal groove, 27, to receive the femaledie 2S, said die being held at the desired adjustment by a key, 29.

30 is a stripper secured to the block, under which the strip of metalpasses in the operation of blanking, there beingl just space between thedie and stripper for the metal to pass freely.

It will of course be understood, although not shown in the drawings,that the block is open under the die in the usual manner, so that theblanks when cut drop out below. Stripper 30 is provided with anopening', 3], through which the male die passes as it descends, thestripper acting to prevent the strip from being lifted by engagementwith the male die.

32 is a guide-roller on the left dog 9, and 33 guide-rollers carried bya slide, 34, which is secured to cross-piece l0 and slides in acrossgroove, 35, in block 2G as the parts move backward and forward inthe operation of feeding, all of which will presently be more fullyexplained.

In order to provide for slight variation in the width of the strips ofmetal and to enable me to hold said strips Iirmly, l place one of therollers 33 on a slide, 3G, dovetailed to cross-piece 34. I The slide isheld in place by a screw, 37, passing through a slot, and is forcedforward into operative position by a spring, 3S, bearing against therear end of the slide. The shafts of the feed-rollers are provided withgear-wheels 39, meshing with each other, and the shaft of the lowerfeed-roller is provided at its opposite ends with ratchets 40, which areengaged by hooked pawls 4], pivoted to brackets42, depending from theplunger.v In the present instance the brackets are shown as connected toarms 43, said arms being rigidly secured to the plunger.

44 denotes springs secured to the brackets and bearing against the backsof the pawls to hold them in operative position, as clearly shown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4.

45 (see Figs. l and 2) is a spring-pawl secured to one of the standardsand bearing against one of the ratchets to prevent its being moved byjarring ot' the machine, so that said ratchets will always be inposition to be engaged by one of the hooked lpawls at the completion ofeither of the cross movements, as will presently be explained.

40 denotes a yoke secured to plate 4, and 47 an oscillating leverpivoted to said bracket. The upper end of this lever is provided with aroller, 4.8, engaging a cam-groove, 49, in a plate, 50, carried by t-heplunger. At the lower end of lever 47 is a spherical roller, 5l,engaging slot 52 in a plate, 523. This plate is journaled on a stud, 54,projecting' upward from plate 4. Below plate is a ratchet, 55, rigidlysecured to a disk, 5G, having' ratchetteeth 5U at its edge and providedon its under side with a cam-groove, 57. Below the disk is thereciprocating plate (5, which carries a roller, 58, engaging thecam-groove in the disk.

59 is a boss on plate 4, projecting upward into opening 7, but notengagin said opening', said boss serving as a support for stud 54.

60 is a hooked pawl pivoted to the under side of plate 53, which isadapted to engage ratchet 55 to carry said ratchet and disk 50 forwardat each oscillation of plate (i.

6l. is a spring engaging pawl 60 and acting' to hold the hook inengagement with a tooth of the ratchet.

(52 is a spring-actuated pawl which engages the teeth of ratchet 55,actin to hold it against backward movement.

(53 is a spring-aciuated pawl adapted to engage one of the ratchet-teethin the edge of said disk at the proper instant to lock said disk againstbeing' carried forward too far when actuated by the engagement of hookedpawl (i0 with ratchet 64 is an arm projecting forward from plate 53,which engages the inner side of pawl 63 and acts to lift said pawl. outof engagement with the disk when ratchet 55 is engaged by pawl UO. Thefunction of this pawl. is to lock the disk against bein carried forwardtoo far by the engagement of pawl GO with the ratchet.

lt will be noticed (see Fig. l) that as plate 53' and the arm swingtoward the left the arm passes out of engagement with pawl 63, allowingsaid pawl to drop down and engage one of the teeth of the ratchet tolock it against further forward movement. The return movement of theplate and arm lifts the pawl again out of engagement with the disk, sothat it may move forward again when the IOO IIO

plate and pawl move toward the left, all of these movements being'clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. (See, also, Figs. 3 and 5.)

The operation of this portion of the machine is as follows, all of theparts being actuated from the plunger: ln inserting a strip of. metaladjusting-'lever 17 is turned so as to allow springs l5 to lift theupper roller, and the strip of metal is passed forward under the maledie. Lever 17 is then turned back again to clamp the upper feed-rollerupon the strip. It will ot` course be apparent that the lowerfeed-roller may be made adjustable, if preferred. The machine is nowready to start. Itis of course preferable to insert the strip of metalwhen reciprocating plate o' is at one extreme or the other of itsmovement. This, however, is not essential. Let us suppose that the stripis inserted when reciprocating plate t) is at the extreme ot' itsmovement toward the back of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 2, thisposition of the parts being clearly illustrated in Fig. Li. The lastdownward movement of the plunger has, through the operation ofoscillating' lever i7, plate 53, the pawl, ratchet, cam-disk, ttc., asshown in lfig. Il, moved plate and all of the parts carried thereby,including the feed-rollers and the strip of metal, toward the right ofthe machine, as seen in Fig. atwthat is, toward the front, as seen inFig` 2-and the last portion of the upward movement has actuated theAfeed-rollers and carried the strip of' metal forward through theengagement of the left hooked pawl 4l, as seen in Fig. 4, with the leftratchet 40. 'lhe result of these lateral. and forward movements of thestrip has been to place the strip in such position relatively to thedies that the next downward movement of the plunger will strike out ablank the forward end of which shall be cut 'from metal between the rearends of the last two blanks struck out. lt will of coursebe apparentfrom Fig. .1L- that lhe downward movement of the plunger which cuts thefirst blank after the forward and lateral movements of the strip j ustdescribed will, through the operation of oscillating lever -l7 and theparts operating in connection therewith, carry reciprocating plate t3,plate 22, the feeding mechanism, ttc., far enough toward the right, asseen in Fig. 4, to place the stripin the proper position to receive thenext blow of the male die. lt should be noted that this lateral movementof plates and the feeding mechanism, &c., will carry the left ratchet1t() far enough toward the right so that it will not be engaged by theleft hooked pawl 4l when the upward movement of the plunger takes place.It will thus be seen that the feed-rollers, while holdingI the strip ofmetal firmly at all times, do not act to carry it forward, except whenthe last blank has been struck out from either edge of the strip, themetal being supplied to the dies by the lateral movement of the stripcaused by the reeiprocation of plate o.'

Turning now to Fig. l, I will describe more clearly the operation of themechanism which actuates plate 6 and carries the strip of metal fromleft to right, and vice versa. As already stated, the position of theparts in Figs. L and l, corresponds, the plunger being at the raisedposition. It maybe added, furthermore, that the parts are in sameposition in Figs. 2, S, and 5, the lower en d of lever 47 being swungtoward the left, as viewed from the front. The downward movement of theplunger through the engagement of roller 4:8 with cam-groove -lfl swingsthe oscillating lever and plate 53 toward the right. Asthe plate swingsaround, hooked pawl (30, carried thereby, is moved around also, carryingratchet 55 and disk 56 with it. This movement of the disk imparts amovement to plate (i through .the engagement of rollers 5S, carriedthereby, with the cam-groove. These movements continue until thefeed-rollers and the strip have been. carried to their extreme positiontoward the right, as seen in Fig. -lthat is, the reverse of the positionshown in said ligure. This will place the Aright hooked pawl -Ll-l inengagement with the right ratchet 4D, so that after the last blank hasbeen struck out from the strip on the right side the upward movement ofthe plunger will cause the forward movement of the feed-rollers, and atthe same time oscillating lever 4:7 and the parts acting' in connectiontherewith will impart the usual lateral movement to the strip. This willplace the strip in such position relatively to the dies that the nextblow of the male die will strike out the iirst blank from the nextseries, the forward portion of which, as usual, vis cut from metal leftbetween the rear ends of the last two blanks struck out. In order thatthis maybe clearly understood, attention is called to Fig. l0, which isa diagram illustrating the manner in which the blanks are cut from thestrip of metal, and to Fig. U, which is an inverted plan view of disk5G, showin the camgroove in the under side thereof. The strip shown inthe present instance is of sufficient width to produce the wide ends offour blanks of the style shown and also the narrow ends of 'four otherblanks which are cut fromA between the wide ends of the row last cut. Itis ot' course understood that in this class of work the greatdesideratum is to produce as many blanks as possible from the strip ofmetal Vfed to thc machine, so that the quantity of scrap shall be'reduced to the minimum.` An independent opening is left in the strip ofmetal where each blank is cut out, as it is necessary that each blank becut from solid metal.

For convenience. l have designated the first four blanks cut vfrom thestrip of metal as it moves from left to right in Fig. -l--that is, 'fromthe extreme of its movement toward the back, as seen in Fig. l-tmvardthe front as, respectively, n, l), c, and d. rlhe upward movement of theplunger after blank d has been cut out causes the lirst forward movementot the strip referred to, and the next downward movement produces thefirstof the, reverse lateral movements, the two move- IOO IIO

lZO

ments acting to place the strip in position for blank e to be cut out,which is the Iirst blank of the return series as the strip moves fromthe reverse of the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4 toward the positionshown in said figures. rlhe next three blanks are denoted by j', g, andh, it being' understood that the forward portions of blanks e, j', g,and h are cut from solid metal left between the rear portions of 1oblanks c, b, c, and d. The next upward and downward movements of theplunger after the blank 71. has been cut produce the second forwardmovement of the strip referred to, accompanied by a lateral movement,which places the strip in position relati\'fely to the dies for anotherblank, a, to be cut, these movements being continuously repeated as longas the strip holds out. The scrap left after cutting out the blanks isordinarily 2o melted over. lt is, however, quite bulky and requires tobe cut up into small pieces before going to the melting-pot. In order toavoid the additional operation of cutting' up by the user, and also forthe convenience of the 2 5 maker of the scrap in packing it, I provide ascrap-cutter which operates in connection with the plunger and feeding'mechanism to cut the scrap up into small pieces.

65 is a bracket depending from one of the 3o arms 43, to which the uppercutter, 6G, is attached.

67 denotes the lower cutter, which is secured to an angle-plate, (38,which in turn is rigidly secured to the bed of the press. Upon the topof the angle-plate is a block, (it), to which a holding-bar, 70, issecured. The scrap as it is fed forward by the feeding mechanism,having' passed the dies, acted upon by the cutters at each movement, thestrip of scrap 4o passing' under the holding-bar, by which it is heldagainst displacement. As the strip moves across the bed in the latei'alfeeding' movements, the cutters of course do not act upon it; but aftereach forward movement the next downward movement of the upper cuttercuts a length from the end of the strip of scrap equal to the amount ofmetal that was fed forward.

The cutters are ordinarily so located rela- 5o tively to the dies as tocut the strip oi' scrap midway of the openings whcre the blanks are cutout-as, for inst-ance, at or about the line 'where the letters a, l), c,and d are placed at the right in Fig. 10-so that the scrap is re- 5 5duced to small pieces.

It Will of course be understood that the details of construction may bevaried within reasonable limits without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

l claim- 1. ln a machine of the class described, the combination, withthe dies, of a laterally-reciprocating plate carrying the feed-rollerswhereby the strip is fed transversely to the dies, so that the blanksare cut out in a row across the width of the strip.

2. The combination, with the dies, the plunger, and the feed-rollers, ofa laterally-reciprocating plate by which the feed-rollers are carried,mechanism, substantially as described, for actuating' the feed-rollersintermittently to feed the strip of metal forward, and upper and lowercutters by which the scrap is cut up.

3. The combination, with the plunger and reciprocating plate 22,carrying standards 14, of the feed-rollers journaled in blocks supportedby said standards, gears 39 on the shafts of said' rollers, and ratchets40ron one of said shafts, which are engaged by pawls 41, carried by theplunger, to impart forward movements to the feed-rollers at the extremesof the movements of said plate.

4. The combination, with the plunger cai'- rying arms 43 andreciprocating plate 22, carrying standards 14, of the feed-rollers whoseshafts are journaled in blocks supported by said standards, g'ears 39 onsaid shafts eng'aging cach other, and ratchets 40 at the opposite endsof one of said shafts, which are engaged by hooked pawls carried bybrackets depending from arms 43, substantially as described.

5. Plate 22, having standards 14, blocks 13, the feed-rollers whoseshafts are journaled in said blocks, springs between said blocks actingto raise the upper roller, and means, substantially as described, forforcing and holding the upper arm in operative position against thepower of said springs.

G. The standards, feed-rollers, blocks 13, and springs 15, incombination with crosspiece 1G, engaging said standards and havingset-screws 20, a spring cross-piece resting on the upper blocks, and anadj listing-lever adapted to bear on said plate and having' groovesengaged by the set-screws, whereby the turning of said lever will forcethe upper feed-roller down to operative position or release it, so thatit may be raised by the springs.

7. The standards, blocks 13, the feed-rollers whose shafts are jonrnaledin said blocks and are provided with gears 39, engaging each other, andsprings 15 between the upper and lower blocks,'in combination withcross-piece 16, engaging the standards and having a pin, 19, andset-screws 20, spring cross-piece 21, bearing on the upper block, andadjustinglever 17, journaled on said pin and bearing on the springcross-piece, and having grooves 18, engaged by said set-screws, as an dfor the purpose set forth.

S. The combination, with plate the standards, and the feed-roll ers, ofsliding plate G, having dogs 9 secured thereto, one of said dogs having'notches 25, engaged by the standards, so that plate 22 and the feeding'mechanism are moved laterally with plate 6.

9. The combination, with plate G, having' roller 58, and the feeding'mechanism carried thereby, of disk 56, having canrgroove 57, with whichsaid roller engages, and means, sublOO IIO

stantially as described, for imparting intermittent rotation to saiddisk.

10. The combination, with plate having a roller, 58, disk 5G, having` acam-groove engaged by said roller, ratchet 55, secured to said disk, andstud 54,011 which said ratchet and disk are journaled, in combinationwith. an oscillating plate, also journaled on said stud, a hooked pawlpivoted to said plate and engaging the ratchet, and pawl e2, acting tohold the ratchet against backward movement.

ll. The combination, with the plungerhaving a plate with a cam-groove,Ltd, yoke 4U, and a lever, 47, pivoted thereto and havin a rollerengaging said cam-groove, in combination with plate 53, having` a slotengaged by the lower end ot said lever and carrying a hooked pawl, (it),ratchet 55, engaged by said pawl, disk 51S, secured to said ratchet, andpawl 52, whereby the ratchet is held against backward movement.

l2. rlhe combination, with oscillating plate 53, having' arm (-t andcarryinghooked pawl UO, of disk 5V, having ratchet-teeth 5G in its edge,ratchet 55, secured to said disk, and pawl G3, which engagesratchet-teeth 5G andis cngaged by arm (54, whereby oscillation ol saidplate in one direction lifts said pawl, so that the disk can be carriedforward by the oscillation in the opposite direction, arm G4 permittingsaid pawl to drop and lock said ratchet at the proper time.

13. The combination, with plate (i, having roller 5S, disk 5G, having acam-groove engaged by said roller, and ratchet 55, secured to said disk,of oscillating plate 55, carrying a hooked pawl engaging said ratchet,and an. oscillating lever engaging said plate, as and t'or the purposeset forth.

,l-i. The combination, with plate (i, having roller 5S, disk 51S, havingratchet-teeth in its edge and a cam-groove engaged by said roller, andratchet secured to said disk, ol oscillating plate 53, carrying a hookedpawl engaging said ratchet and having' an arm, et, and pawl 625, whichengages the ratchet-teeth and is engaged by said arm, as and ll'or thepurpose set l'orth;

The combination, with plate (i, having roller 5R, disk 513, having acam-groove engaged by said roller and teeth 5d, and ratchet 55, securedto said disk, of oscillating plate 53, carrying a hooked pawl engagingsaid ratchet and an arm, (it, a pawl, (333, which engi ges ratchet-teeth5U and is engaged by said arm, and pawl (S2, which engagesthe ratchet,as and tor the purpose set forth.

lll. The combination, with disk 5G, ratchet 55, secured thereto, andoscillating plate 53, having a hooked pawl engaging said ratchet, ot'lever 47, engaging said plate and having a roller at its opposite end,the plunger, and a pla-te carried thereby, which is provided with thecam-groove engaged by said roller.

l'7. The combination, with the plunger and block 915, having groove 235,and the dies, oi'

sliding plate G, having dogs 9 and cross-piece l0, slide 34, secured tosaid cross-piece and moving in said groove, a spri n g-actuated slide,36, carried by slide Si, and guide-rollers on said slides by which thestrip of metal is held.

1S. rlhe combination, with the plunger and dies, ot plate d, havindog.V` il, one of said dogs having notches 25, and plate 22, havingstandards which support the teed-rollers and are engaged by notches 25,as and for the purpose set forth.

l). The combination, with the plunger and dies, of plate i,having dogs9, one ol' said dogs having notches 25, cross-piece l0, plate 22, havingstandards which support the feedrollers and are engaged by notches 25,slide 3st, connected to the cross-piece, spring-actuated slide 2'313,dovetailed to slide 34, and guide-rollers on said slides, whereby thestrip is held in the forward and lateral feeding movements.

20. The combination, with sliding plate (i and thel'ced-rollerscarrieifl by plate 22, of the plunger and upper cutter carried therebyand the lower cutter, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2l. The combiiiation, with the plunger, sliding plate 22, and thefeed-rollers carried thereby, ot' the upper cutter carried by theplunger, thc lower cutter, and holding-bar 70, as and for the purposeset t'orth.

22. The combination, with the plunger and the t'eed-rollta's, the shaftsot' said rollers bc- 'ing geared together and one of said shafts havingratcheisat its ends, ot a sliding plate by which the feed-rollers arecarried, and spring-pawls carried by the plunger, which engage saidratchet to impart a forward movement to the feed-rollers at the extremesof the lateral movements. Y

22). The combiiiatitm, with the plunger having arms 42% and brackets 42,and feed-rollers, the shat'ts ot" said rollers being geared together andonel ot' said shaft'ts having ratchets at its ends, ot alaterally-sliding plate by which the `feed-rollers are carried, andspringpawls pivoted to brackets t2, which engage said ratchets to imparta t'orward movement to the Feed-rollers at the extremes ol'I the lateralmovements.

2t. The combination, with the plunger, the feed-rollers, gears on theshatfts olf said rollers, and ratchets at the ends ot' one shaft, of alaterally-slidin g plate by which the feed-rollers are carried,spring-pawls carried by the plunger, which engage said ratche'ls toimpart a forward movement to the :feed-rollers at the extremes of thelateral movements, and a pa-wl, 45, engaging one ot' the ratchets toprevent backward movement.

In testimony whereof l all-ix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD A. BREUL. W itncsses:

A. M. Woos'rnn, C. M. NEWMAN.

IOO

IIO

